International workers' day - photo report

French unions fail to reach demo target, clashes and protests in Americas

Article published on the 2009-05-02 Latest update 2009-05-02 10:06 TU

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez during a May Day celebration in Caracas M
(Photo: Reuters/Miraflores Palace handout)

French trade unions failed to mobilise the two million demonstrators they had hoped for on May Day demonstrations Friday, but they won the highest turnout since 2002. In Latin America, police clashed with demonstrators in Venezuela and Mexico. In the US immigrant workers demanded a better deal.

Trade unionists in Paris on May Day
(Photo: Jan van der Made)

France: According to the CGT union federation, 1.2 million people marched on Friday's demonstrations, lower than the turnout on the 19 March general strike. But it is the highest May Day turnout since 2002, when over a million demonstrated against far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen made it to the second round face-off  of the presidential election. In response to workers' concerns over job losses, Labour Minister Brice Hortefeux promised a meeting with unions and bosses "in the summer" to evaluate the government's anti-crisis measures.

Pakistani women join the May Day demonstration in Lahore
(Photo: Farooq Tariq)

Pakistan: As government troops fight with Islamist Taliban fighters in the Swat Valley, women workers joined a May Day demonstration in Lahore, demanding equal pay for work of equal value. Pakistani cities, especially Lahore, are regarded as more liberal than rural areas, such as Swat, and unions are stronger in urban areas.

 

Cosatu members in Durban
(Photo: Reuters)

South Africa: Members of the Cosatu union federation demonstrated, in a tradition going back to 1905. Unions are buoyed up by the victory of African National Congress leader Jacob Zuma in the presidential elections. "There's a feeling of hope and confidence that the new government will be more responsive to the demands that the workers are putting," Cosatu spokesperson Patrick Craven told RFI, adding that unions have already been consulted about the make-up of a new cabinet.

Morgan Tsvangirai (L) and ZCTU leader Lovemore Matombo
(Photo: Reuters)

Zimbabwe: Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai attended a May Day rally at Harare's Gwanzura stadium, along with union leaders. Tsvangirai, who has at last entered government after an agreement with President Robert Mugabe, started his career as a leader of the country's main trade union federation, the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU).

 

May Day demonstrators in Los Angeles
(Photo: Reuters)

United States: Immigrant workers, mainly from Latin America, and their supporters turned out at rallies throughout the country to demand better treatment, with many workers who are in the country illegally facing harsh treatement by bosses. But turnout was reported to be lower than on previous mobilisations in recent years.

In Latin America, the National Guard clashed with opposition trade unionists and other demonstrators in Venezuela, while socialist President Hugo Chavez addressed a rally of his own supporters. In Mexico, police clashed with 200 demonstrators who ignored a union-agreed ban on public gatherings because of the H1N1 flu. In Bolivia President Evo Morales announced at a rally that he is to nationalise a subsidary of the BP oil company.